Winners of the 2006 BII Licensee of the Year Award sponsored by Matthew Clark Britain's best publicans
22-Mar-2006
Richard & Jacqui Macey, of The Fountain, Clent, West Midlands, are officially the best publicans in Britain.
The couple, 39 and 44 years old respectively, won the most prestigious title in the pub trade, the BII Licensee of the Year Award, sponsored by Matthew Clark. They were given their award on March 21 at the Publican Awards in front of 2,000 publicans and key industry figures.
John McNamara, BII Chief Executive, said, "Excellence in customer service and social responsibility, brilliant innovations and a truly awe-inspiring financial performance underpinned by the best-trained, professional pub staff in Britain clinched it for them.
He added, "This pub and the people who run it are what BII is all about. By continually focusing on customers' needs - and always looking to improve, this 62-seat village pub, which is surrounded by heavy competition from the big pub companies, hit net sales of £863,000 in 2005.
Mr McNamara concluded, "Richard and Jacqui and their team continually push forward the boundaries of retail excellence - including social responsibility - along all fronts and they underpin this by shrewd investment in staff training, eight staff have gained the BII's acclaimed Profitable Business Portfolio and all serving staff have taken the BII's National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders. They show what any normal pub in any average location is capable of.”
Richard Macey said, “The purpose of the BII Licensee of the Year Award is to highlight excellence and also to help promote good practice throughout the industry - we're hugely successful but what we're doing is what any similar average pub could be doing.
He added, "We are obviously delighted that our team has won this brilliant award, but my serious message to the industry is this: you will only drive your business forward if you improve your skills levels and motivation. We used the excellent BII qualifications which already exist and which are helping hundreds of people being more successful. We owe our success to BII qualifications. It's that simple.”
ends
Notes to Editors:
Contact details for Richard and Jacqueline Macey
The Fountain Inn
Adams Hill
Clent
Nr Stourbridge
Worcestershire
DY9 9PU
Tel: 01562 883286
BII is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2006. BII is the professional body for the licensed retail sector and has over 17,500 members, and 50 patron and corporate members. In 2005 BII's Awarding Body (BIIAB) processed 190,350 qualifications. BII's mission is to promote high standards of professionalism throughout the licensed retail sector; to encourage new entrants into the industry, and to help them develop their long-term careers. We provide all our members with the information, skills and qualifications to help them succeed in their business activities.
For further information please contact:
Natasha Rydlewski
Communications Officer
01276 417805
natasha@bii.org
